What No One Knew
by Shortstakk7932
Summary: Rossi is sitting at home working on one of his most recent books when someone starts beating on his door...Will be rated T for now, but may change later, depends on how this goes. Possible multi-chapter. Eventually all team members will likely make an appearance.
1. What No One Knew Chapter 1

**What No One Knew**

_**Some statistics on Domestic Violence: **_

_**-Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.**_

_**-Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.**_

_**-Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.**_

_**-Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.**_

_**-Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.**_

_**-Ninety-two percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.**_

_**-Based on reports from 10 countries, between 55 percent and 95 percent of women who had been physically abused by their partners had never contacted non-governmental organizations, shelters, or the police for help.**_

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**Another little idea I had sort of floating around in my head; brought on by the September Author's Challenge contest….another one of those ideas that sprang up and I ran with it. Truly though, I need to be working on some of the fiction that I already have out there. **_**Bad Mel, bad! (smacking my own hand). **_

**I'm not sure if this will be a one-shot or multi-chapter (going by my track record, I smell multi-chapter). **

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This was the fourth house she had run to. She hoped she'd finally found a neighbor that was home. Somehow she doubted it; the man who lived here stayed gone a lot…she thought perhaps because of his job, but she wasn't really sure. She hadn't had the chance to really get to know any of her neighbors since moving here nearly three years ago. She knew how pathetic that sounded, but the truth of the matter was she wasn't even allowed to go to the end of the driveway to check the mail without _him_ watching from a window; so the idea of actually speaking to any neighbors was not something that she was ever able to conceive.

She had lost her footing while running a couple times; she supposed that happened when you could only see out of one eye. The thought only crossed her mind because her ankle was beginning to swell.

'_Wonderful. I must have twisted it good the last time.'_

It didn't help that she kept looking back over her shoulder to see if _he_ was coming after her or not. As she made it just to the end of the driveway of this older gentleman's house, she saw _his_ truck coming around the corner from the side street in the upscale subdivision they lived at. She hobbled desperately onto the man's front porch, banging on the door like her life depended on it. But then again it did.

'_Oh God! Please be home! Please, please, please be home.'_ She beat on that door until her fists hurt, looking back over her shoulder. The only reason she had even thought to come here was that the last time that her husband had bothered to take her out, they had passed by this house and she saw the large SUV with government tags on the back end. That had been a hot day, and the gentleman who lived here had been out in his yard, his garage door was open while he did some light weeding. She filed her knew found knowledge away for later. She never knew when that might come in handy. She had seen the man working in his yard. He was older, although he didn't seem to have a lot of grey in his hair yet. He was taller than her, but then that didn't shock her. She was petite, 5'3 or 5'4; most people were taller than her (if you didn't count the Olsen twins). His face seemed distinguished, yet kind, with a goatee.

He stood from his work and saw the car passing and the young couple in it, as they passed he threw up his hand to wave at them. As usual, the young woman turned her head quickly, the man that was driving waved back stiffly. David Rossi wondered about those two odd birds. They had lived in town for a while now, and he had yet to meet them. David was a social butterfly in most cases and knew almost all of his neighbors that lived close by. But there weren't many people that seemed to know this young couple; and if they did know something, they never told. He just knew they never managed to make to the neighborhood barbecues that were held a few times a year during the summer. If either one of them showed up it was the man. He was sort of stand-offish. And when he was asked where his wife was he always said she wasn't feeling well or that she wasn't comfortable around strangers.

Today, Rossi was in his study working on some notes for a new book he was writing. He had been going along at a decent pace until that infernal knocking at his door started. At first he tried to ignore it. He usually didn't like to be bothered when he was home. He liked the peace and quiet; and after some of the cases they had worked lately, who could blame him.

The knocking wouldn't go away though; if anything it got louder and more urgent. And then he heard the woman's voice screaming for someone to help her.

Rossi grabbed his side-arm from his desk drawer, clipping it to his belt, and stood immediately and ran to his front door, ripping it open.

As soon as he got the door open more than a couple of inches, a small woman burst through it sobbing collapsing into his arms crying out for him to help her.

"He's gonna kill me! Please, don't let him come for me!"

Rossi had barely gotten a decent look at her face but could see that one eye had a blackish/purple bruise and was swollen shut and that there were several other bruises all over her face….some of her finger nails were broken and bleeding from where she must have been fighting the devil himself.

As soon as he was able to take in these few details he reached up and slammed his door shut, locking it.

"Come on, we can go into the living room. He won't be able to see you from there."

The young woman tried to stand up and walk, but her ankle gave way, and she wasn't able to stand. Not even breaking stride, Rossi swung her up into his arms and carried her into his living room, laying her on his sofa, and draping a blanket over her to give her a little security.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go look and see where he is."

She shot up into a sitting position, full of panic, wincing because her side hurt so badly.

"Don't let him get me! Please!" she reached out a shaky hand and grabbed his arm. Her hand was so tiny.

"He won't make it past me, I promise you that. I'm just going to the window to look out. I won't leave."

She nodded her understanding.

"Just lay here and rest. As soon as I am able to figure out what is going on, I will call an ambulance to come and get you. He drives the red Dodge Ram right?"

The woman only shook her head 'Yes'.

Rossi did as he promised. He went to his front door, looking out of the transom windows that were on the sides to see if he could spot the huge truck rolling down the street. He knew the man would not be able to see directly into the house through the windows, because there were sheers that covered them to help obstruct the view, so Rossi's identity would be covered fairly well, but he stayed back from the window just a bit to be on the safe side.

He took out his cell phone and pretended to be making a call and walking from room to room while he talked just in case the man in the truck happened to stop out in front of the house to stare.

On one of his turn-arounds Rossi saw the truck alright. Walking back into his study and through another door that lead back into the living room that was on the back of the house, where he had placed the woman, he came to sit down in one of his favorite chairs before he acted like he was hanging up the phone and picking up the TV remote. The young woman was still lying on the sofa, terrified to move.

"He's just out front. We will sit here for a few minutes and give him time to go away. I can get you something to drink while we wait."

"He won't leave."

"He will have to leave. I'm a federal agent, if he continues to sit in front of my house I can have him arrested for trespassing. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Yes, please."

"What would you prefer?"

"Just some water will be fine."

Rossi got up and went into the kitchen. As he got a drink for himself and one for the young lady, he also made two ice packs; one for her eye and one for her ankle.

After carrying everything into the living room, he sat the tray on the coffee table and sat on the foot stool that was in front of his chair, scooting it closer to the end of the sofa near her feet.

"Which ankle is the one that hurts?"

She drew up a little scooting away from him.

"I'll be alright. You don't need to…."

"I know you'll be fine. And I do need to. Let me see, which ankle?"

"The left one,' she said quietly as she tried to slip the shoe off, her face scrunching when it hurt to do so.

"Lie back, I can take care of this." Rossi saw that the ankle was swelling quite nicely.

"I think you've sprained it rather well."

"Yeah, I guess so." The woman took a small sip of the ice water she had been offered.

Rossi looked up to see if he could still see out of the window to the street. That damned truck was still out there. He took out his cell phone again, calling the local police department. He let them know he was a federal agent and that there was a strange vehicle that was sitting out front of his private residence and had been for the better part of 15 minutes without moving. He mentioned to them that he was pretty sure that it was a man who had beaten his wife, and that the young woman was currently hiding in his home, and that it would be wise for them to approach in unmarked vehicles without lights and sirens.

After the adrenaline had begun to drain from her body, the young woman started to get drowsy. Rossi was beginning to notice a gash at her forehead. He knew she might have a concussion, and he would need to keep her awake until he could figure out how to get her to the hospital.

"So, little missy, you've never mentioned your name."

The one eye that she could see out of had become droopy with fatigue, but she slowly opened it a little bit.

"Danielle. Danielle Blanchard." Her eye started closing again as she became more and more tired.

"Oh no, you have to stay awake. We have to take you to the hospital."

"Hmmmm."

She began to doze off on him and he began to call Hotch to let him know what was going on as he tried everything he knew to do to keep her awake.

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**Post AN: So there's that. Like I said, I smell multi-chapter. But we'll see. **


	2. What No One Knew Chapter 2

**What No One Knew 2**

**AN: I was pleasantly surprised by the response to this story. It has gained a lot of favorites, etc, substantially faster than some of my other stories….so I'm stoked about that. I must admit that initially I was going to make this be a Pen/Derek story, but I couldn't bear to write a story about somebody beating on Pen; just didn't seem right. So, let's see what happens in chapter 2. **

The cops had come out to Rossi's house; one of the officers had called when they were close, as a courtesy to Rossi's status as a federal agent. He was still on the phone with Hotch and had told him to hold for a moment while he went to look out of the front window.

Rossi took the chance going over to the window to look out and see what would happen. He saw the cops stop the car; one of them got out and walked over to the truck, speaking with the man in the truck. Rossi wouldn't swear on the bible, but they seemed friendly with each other, friendly enough that Rossi became worried when the officer gave the man a wave and got back in the car alongside of his partner. Rossi saw the truck pull away and leave; it looked as though the man might have gone back in the direction of his own home.

'_Rossi, what's going on….Hell-o.'_

"I'm here. Meet me at Mercy General."

'_Rossi, you need to tell me what's going on.'_

"Long story short…One of my neighbors has been beaten. I'm going to take her to the hospital so they can check her out. I am sure her husband did it; I saw him sitting just out front of my house in his truck for quite some time. I would call for an ambulance to take her, but I don't want him causing problems."

'_I can call ahead to the hospital and let them know you're coming. Derek can meet you at the entrance to your neighborhood and give you an escort if you think you will need it.'_

"It probably wouldn't hurt. I wouldn't care, except I don't know what this man's frame of mind is, so having Derek around might be a good idea."

'_Alright, I'm sending him out now. I can be up there with the rest of the team as soon as possible.'_

"Thanks. I have to go. She's waking up a little bit. She'll be upset if she can't find me."

'_Well go see to her. Can you sneak her out of the house through the garage? At least this guy wouldn't see you put her in the car. It would give you a little head start on him.'_

"That's actually what I was planning to do. I'll see you at the hospital a little later. I really have to go."

With that Rossi abruptly ended the call.

"_Mr…."_

"You get to call me Dave."

"_M'k."_

"I'm going to try to get you to the hospital; first you need to take a couple of aspirin, it might help with some of the aches you have, at least long enough to give us time for the doctor to look you over."

"I'm alright, I don't need anything."

"Well, humor me and take two, please."

The young woman nodded. She couldn't really say _no_; this man had been so nice to her, she would do pretty much anything he asked her too at that point.

After she downed the aspirin and a little water, Dave lifted her up in his arms again and began to carry her over to a door that led to his garage; it was off of a sort of mud room that was, itself, off of the kitchen…since the garage door was closed, he could easily sneak her into the back seat without anyone seeing what he was up to.

"I am going to need you to lay down if that is possible and stay down until I tell you differently, and it probably wouldn't hurt to keep the blanket close."

"_Yes, sir."_

"Dave…"

"…_Dave."_

With that he shut the back door to his SUV. Dave hopped up in the driver's seat, pushed the button on his garage door opener, and then began backing out. Once he was safely out of the garage, but still in his drive way, he set his home security alarm remotely; just like Garcia had taught him months ago. After that was all done, he made his way out onto the street in his subdivision, and towards the entrance where Derek was waiting; luckily Dave's neighborhood was only about a 10 minute drive from the office.

Pulling alongside Derek at the entrance, Dave rolled his window down and made sure that Derek knew where they were going.

"Yeah, Hotch said Mercy General. Do you want me in front or behind?"

"Behind; I can see things coming at me pretty well. But it will be difficult to keep my eyes on the road ahead and behind while still worrying about how she is doing."

"She? D-a-v-e?"

"I can explain later, just…."

"Alright. Lead on old man."

Dave pulled out onto the highway, Derek following a safe distance behind him. Once they were on the road, Dave's cell started to ring.

"Yes, Morgan?"

"What sort of vehicle am I supposed to be on the look-out for?"

"Oh, yeah….well I know for sure that he drives a red Dodge Ram, if one of those follows us for more than a few turns it's likely him. Other than that I don't know what he might be in."

"I just wanted to make sure; I forgot to bring that up at the company meeting."

"Smart ass."

"Bye Rossi."

Dave hung up, shaking his head and with a bit of a chuckle.

From the back seat he heard a voice, 'Who was that?"

"It's one of the people I work with…"

"Another Federal Agent?"

"Yes. We work for the FBI. Do you know what Behavioral Analysts do?"

"Yes, actually. You are called in to bad crimes to figure out the kind of person or people did the crime and help the local cops stop the bad guy."

"Actually, that's pretty much it, yes. How long have you and your husband lived here in town…in the neighborhood?"

"Hmmm. About three years I think."

"I don't see you around a lot."

"I know. "

"Where are you from originally? You don't sound like you're from around here."

"Yeah, well….How many times have you ever heard someone how sexy Yankees sound when they talk?"

"Touché. Now, really, where are you from?"

"North Carolina."

"Which part?"

"The northeastern corner of the state."

Dave made a sound, a little _tsk_ sort of sound that led her to believe he really didn't care for her evasiveness.

"….I-I m-mean it's a tiny town. Chances are if someone like you has ever heard of it or been through it then it was probably an accident."

She sounded worried.

"You don't have to be worried about me. I'm not mad at you about anything; I just thought we should try to get to know each other a little bit, considering our circumstances."

Danielle replied with a nearly inaudible, soft, 'Okay'.

Dave's phone started ringing again.

"Mercy General Morgan."

"No, Dave. Behind me, is this the truck?"

Dave looked up into his rearview mirror, 'Yes."

"I got this, you get her to the hospital, I will catch up."

"Be careful this time how 'bout it."

"Yes dad."

After hanging up Rossi chuckled yet again, shaking his head, 'That boy…."

"What's going on?"

"It seems that your husband is following us. My friend that I spoke to…he was running interference for us so I can get you to the hospital in one piece…he called to let me know that your husband is back there."

"Oh no!"

"Don't worry. Derek will stop him in his tracks."

"But he gets so….."

"Trust me; he won't tangle with Derek but the one time."

Only a few minutes more and they were pulling up to the hospital; Dave pulled right straight into the entrance of the emergency department. As he hopped out of the driver's seat, he tossed his keys to one of the nurses that came out to meet him, and then turned to the back of the vehicle, opening that door and collecting Danielle.

"Sir you can't just park…." The nurse began to instruct Dave.

Dave merely flashed his FBI badge and pulled Danielle out of the back seat.

The nurse saw the condition that the young woman was in, 'She has a possible concussion and has been in and out of consciousness off and on since I found her. I don't have time to park it somewhere else."

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it."

Dave walked quickly into the emergency room and went straight to the intake desk.

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On the way to the hospital, Dave had intentionally pulled into one of the inside lanes, with Derek right behind him; they knew the red truck would follow the pattern. Once this was done, Dave had driven a few car lengths ahead and then swerved back into the lane he needed to be in so he could make the turn off to the hospital. Derek in the meantime had slowed up ever so slightly causing the man in the red truck to be blocked in by traffic. Once that was done, all Derek had to do was be patient and wait for an opening and he would get over quickly. Rush hour traffic in this area…usually it pissed Derek off beyond all belief; but just for today, it had its useful attributes.

As it turned out, Derek couldn't take the exit he wanted to get to the hospital. That was fine by him; he went a few exits up and made the turn there…it only meant he had to double back a bit, but to have that asshole tangled up in some DC grid-lock was worth it.

By the time that Derek made it to the hospital, Hotch and the rest of the team had made it there as well. They tracked down Rossi in a waiting room; he was standing at one of the windows to the waiting room, allowing him to see down the hall a bit. He was trying to see when the doctors came and went to try to keep up with what was going on with this girl. Everyone sat around waiting with him, asking him questions about what was going on, listening carefully when he told them what he knew thus far.

The doctor that had been examining Danielle finally stepped out, Rossi stood up quickly when the doctor called her name.

"Are you family?"

"Yeah, she's my niece." Rossi replied quickly enough; Hotch arched a brow at him, not saying a word.

"I'm Dr. Sherwood. It seems as though Danielle has a mild concussion…it's nothing too serious. Most of her injuries are superficial….bruises, things like that; although, she does have two cracked ribs. She did sprain that left ankle like a pro. She'll have to stay off of it for a while. I noticed in her x-rays that there are several older injuries, quite a few actually. It leads me to believe that she has been beaten over years. And she got extra lucky this time…."

"What do you mean doc?" Rossi was growing angrier and more concerned as the man kept speaking.

"She's also pregnant. She can't be that far along, she doesn't seem to be showing or at least not that much. But to be on the safe side I will go ahead and schedule an ultra-sound to be sure of what is going on with the baby."

"Dr. Sherwood, we would like to be able to take her a change of clothes."

"And who might you people be?"

"FBI agents, doctor." Rossi answered for Hotch.

"Well, give us a moment to finish getting her ankle and ribs wrapped, and just don't get her worked up and it should be fine. As soon as the ultra-sound is scheduled and performed I will fill out the paperwork to have her released. She shouldn't be allowed to go back home to that environment however."

"Of course not doctor. We understand."

With that the doctor had left the waiting room saying that he would have a nurse come notify them when they were able to go back and see the girl.

The nurse finally came to get them to lead them to the exam room that Danielle was in. She was sitting on the exam table in a pale green hospital gown, her feet dangling over the edge of it. She was short enough that her feet didn't touch the step that they pull out to help shorter people boost themselves up onto the table; even when she extended the toes on the foot that wasn't swollen, they didn't even come close to touching the step. She was swinging her 'good' foot a little allowing her heel to gently hit the table behind it. The one nurse in the room with her was dabbing at the gash on her forehead, the one that Rossi had seen at his house. Danielle winced a little at the sting of the antiseptic. Once the bandage was on that, the nurse turned to wrapping the ankle in an ace bandage to help stabilize it a bit.

'_Ok, I need to go get you a set of crutches that you can use around home; I'll be right back in a couple of minutes.'_

Danielle only nodded quietly as the young woman got up to walk out of the room

As the team had been just out in the hallway, they saw everything that had just happened.

JJ was the first to speak up, 'You guys call me the Pennsylvania Pixie, but this girl is smaller than me."

Rossi only nodded quietly. He was the first one through the door to the room. Danielle had been watching the floor, then she would tilt her head up counting the spots on the tiles in the ceiling; her long hair draped over one shoulder. When she heard the door swing open she looked up at the agents coming through the door.

"Sir?" she was about to hop down off of the table, until Morgan stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder to let her know to sit still. She winced a little, letting out a tiny gasp.

"Dave….remember."

She nodded.

"Is your shoulder hurt?" Hotch asked her. She tilted her head, arching an eyebrow at him. She wasn't sure about these new people.

"It's alright; he's our unit chief, our boss." Dave told her.

"Okay." She moved the neckline of the hospital gown a bit to show the shoulder and there were several bruises there….one was a definite handprint, you could see the finger marks; but other than that the shoulder was near black and blue in some places. She fixed the gown back the way it belonged.

"So what do you agents need me for? I have to get dressed and go."

"You're not going home." Hotch told her.

"W-what? I h-have to. He'll come looking for me. You already know this Mr. Dave. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Don't you have any family?" Prentiss asked.

The girl shook her head 'no'. "My dad died from ALS when I was 10. Mom died of Cancer when I was 13. I was raised by my grandparents after that. But they've been dead for years."

"How old are you?" Reid asked.

"Um…37, almost 38. Why?"

"You don't look it at all,' JJ commented.

"Well, like I said, I need to go….I just need to find my clothes…."

JJ stepped forward with a bag in her hand. "It's just some sweat pants, T-shirt, and a hoodie…but we figured you might like some fresh clothes."

"Are you kidding me? If I come home in this stuff he really will beat me then…he'll want to know where I got these and who I've been talking to. It'll be bad enough as it is. He knows I went to your house…" She looked over at Rossi.

She scooted past Derek, trying to take a step down onto the floor, her sprained left ankle giving her pain; she let out a little whimper. Derek was the first one to offer her help.

"I got this. it isn't the worst that's ever happened. I just gotta go. If he sees me talking to you people…"

"We won't let him near you…."Hotch began to promise.

"First question. Why are ya'll so interested in me? Second…What makes you think you can stop him? And don't you think I've heard all these promises before? Nobody can stop him." She tried to turn and find her old clothes, what was left of them anyway, grumbling.

"What did you just say?" Rossi asked her.

She looked at him worriedly, like maybe he would be angry at her for what she said.

"Danielle, you can tell us anything…."

"Nobody can stop him. And more to the point, nobody has ever wanted to."

"Why not?" Emily was starting to get as angry as Dave over this whole situation now.

"He's a cop. All he does is go in bat his eyes and walk back out. The one time I tried complaining to his superior officer….you don't know how hard it was to leave the house to begin with. I nearly had to bust out a window….he keeps me locked in….and the windows were nailed shut. I was lucky to find a pair of scissors to even pry the window open….then I had to hitch a ride to the station. I don't know how the chief knew me, but I told him what happened.

Later that night when Lonnie got home…."

She hopped around on her good foot to try to locate her clothes, not finding them she looked around the room.

"Where are my things?" she was getting upset.

"You can put these on,' JJ tried again.

"I told you…."

"And we've told you that you're not going back to that house."Hotch sounded as stern as ever. "So you can take the clothes we have. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

The woman slowly took the bag, wearily watching Hotch.

"You never answered my question. Why are ya'll interested in me?"

"Well you showed up on Dave's doorstep in bad condition. If Dave cares, we care."

"I can't go back to your house si….Dave; he already knows I went there the first time. I can't make trouble for you."

"I was in the Marines, I ate trouble for breakfast."

Danielle seemed to study Rossi a little bit. "Oh my God!"

"What?" Rossi was curious as to what caused this display.

"Lonnie knows I love books….that I love reading….I used to have so many books, I could have started my own little ghetto library. He got mad at me once….we had a huge fight….he burnt them all…except one that I was able to save….I have it hidden in the couch. I had to cut open part of the guts of the couch to hide it."

"What book was it?"

"It was one of yours…..When he would take me somewhere, and we'd pass by your house, I always kept thinking that I knew you from someplace, but I couldn't think where. And since I didn't know anybody in the neighborhood, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Your book is the only one I have left. A friend of mine back home had bought it for me for my birthday, right before we moved. It's all I have left. He can't think I'm at your house….he'll make trouble for you….I have to go back." She was clutching the bag of clothes and tears were running down her cheeks; she just knew she was as good as dead.

"You can stay at my place."

Everybody turned and looked at Morgan like he had grown two more heads. They knew that she couldn't go back to her home. But they had no idea that he would step forward that way.

"Well she said it herself; he already knows that she was at Rossi's earlier. If she went back, it would make it too easy for him to find her."

"What about the women's shelters?" Reid asked out of idle curiosity.

"Banned from them. He's come up there starting trouble so many times….they won't let me back. I'll just go back. It'll be alright." She tried to smile reassuringly; it wasn't working. She knew better, and the team knew she knew better.

"No, you're going to stay with me."

"But you're girlfriend….or your wife….no."

"I'm single."

"Why? I mean…." Danielle shook her head to try to make sense of things. JJ had a smile on her face that she was trying to hide.

"I don't know….." Danielle was still unsure about things. It would have been bad enough if he was married or seeing someone. But somehow the fact that he was single was sort of scary, too.

"Look. My friend Penelope can come over. She can bring some nail polish and girl stuff; Emily and JJ can jump in on it….make it a girl's night. I have plenty of room. And that way it would look more like friends hanging out if anyone asks around."

"Yeah, it would be sort of fun, I think. You're gonna love Pen. And she will just want to eat you up." JJ was trying to sell it hard.

"Why?"

"Well, Pen is just different. She loves to make everybody happy. The three of us are like sisters….and you'll become her baby sister quick if you aren't careful."

"I've never had any brothers or sisters….what's it like?"

"I have two sisters. They're alright….since I'm the only boy, sometimes they give me troubles…"

"Hey, if you want you can borrow some of my books sometime." Reid stepped forward.

The young woman had started sliding the T-shirt on over her hospital gown, then putting the sweat pants on under the gown as well, before wiggling out of the gown altogether. She didn't seem to notice the smile that Morgan had on his face. The sweat pants were so long and baggy on her that they hung off of her feet; the T-shirt was a better fit, if just barely, it only hung down a little past her waist.

Looking up as she heard what Reid said, she asked him what kind of books he had.

"All kinds. What subject do you like the most?"

"I always liked history. I figured that was a given, being raised by my grandparents."

"My mom was a professor of 15th century literature at one time."

"No! For real? Awww. I definitely wanna see some of your books." She started rubbing her head a little bit.

"Are you alright Danielle?"

"Yes, Dave. I just have a bit of a headache."

"Ma'am, what are you doing up? We have to get you set up for the ultra-sound. And you really shouldn't be on that ankle."

The nurse, Nurse Robin, had come back, mortified seemingly, that Danielle was up moving around.

"They said I didn't have to go back….I was just…."

"Where are you going to go? In the meantime, please stay off of the ankle."

"He said I could stay with him and his friends." For the first time since everyone had met Danielle she seemed like she might actually be happy.

"Okay well we'll see. But in the meantime, sit down and keep the weight off that ankle. The doctor will have my hide otherwise."

"Right….sorry." Danielle turned to look at the examination table and scratched her head…"Um…"

"Come here…" Derek grabbed her under the arms and carefully lifted her onto the table. When he did so the pants legs to the sweat pants dangled past her feet. Emily and JJ couldn't contain the giggles no matter how hard they tried.

"I'll get on the phone and tell Pen she needs to pick up clothes that fit a lot better than these do." JJ walked out of the room, Emily not far behind.

Once the nurse saw that Danielle was seated back on the examination table, she turned a withering look on Hotch and Rossi. "You two come with me." She stiffly turned her back to them and led them out of the room.

Once the door closed the nurse turned to them and gave them a dressing down.

"You better make sure you can protect her from this creep. I've seen her come in here way too many times the past couple of years. I don't always get her case, but I have still seen her here. If you don't intend to keep her safe and do whatever you have to do to make that happen then you should leave now. I will not have her trifled with…..' she was about to continue when Hotch held up a hand to silence her.

"Ma'am, we have every intention of helping her. We aren't going to let him do this again."

"Well…good. That poor girl needs somebody to take care of her. She hasn't got a soul in the world right now. And the damned police have been useless. Since he is a cop they want to take sides with their brother in blue….meanwhile she sits in there, black and blue, broken bones and all. I won't have you get her hopes up just to have her sent back to that house again."

"Ma'am, we would never…..and besides, does it look like to you that that man will ever get her back?" Rossi pointed back into the room. Through the glass of the door Hotch, Rossi, and the nurse could see Morgan and Reid talking to Danielle about God knows what…trying to keep her mind off of what was going on around her. Reid was even able to scare up enough supplies to do some of his physics magic for her. When there was loud popping sound made by the canister, she laughed out loud and then tried to get quiet, looking around as if she expected to get into trouble.

"Dr. Reid, you're gonna get me kicked out of this place If you keep this up." She said, but she couldn't stop giggling.

"Oh, there's something that I completely forgot,' Danielle had put her hand over her mouth as she remembered her thought.

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"My dogs…I forgot my dogs."

"We can get them for you. What kind of dogs are they?"

"Where are we going to put them?"

"They can come to my place, too. I have a dog named Clooney….he's a German Shepard."

"I have two Irish Wolfhounds, Bailey and Kissy."

"Hotch and I can go get them…."

"But be careful. Lonnie has a Rottweiler, Dingle. He's a beautiful dog, but sometimes he's mean."

"Ok, thanks for the heads-up. We'll go get them after we get you settled at my place. I'll have Pen come over so you don't have to be alone in a strange place. Besides, she can help you with stuff since you're supposed to stay off that ankle as much as possible."

Nurse Robin came back in from giving Hotch and Rossi the third degree stating that the ultrasound had been arranged and that she needed to take Danielle to the room for that.

"Where are the crutches that I'm supposed to have?"

"They will be in your possession before you leave. But for right now, this will do." She scooted a wheel chair forward. Danielle nodded and began to scoot back down off of the table until Morgan stepped up and scooped her up in his arms. Danielle just looked at him for a second, bewildered. Hotch and Rossi smirked at each other.

"Just show me how to get there." Derek instructed Robin.

"Alright, follow me." She knew enough not to argue with the FBI.

On the way there, Danielle did her best to make herself clear to Derek.

"You coulda let me ride in the wheel chair, ya know. It woulda been alright."

"What kind of friend would I be then?"

"You're my friend?" Danielle asked perplexed.

"Of course; you sound surprised."

Danielle made a quiet 'oh' sound. "It's been a long time since anyone was my friend…I mean, for real, my friend."

"You said that one of your friends gave you that book."

"She was just the wife of one of Lonnie's cop friends. I barely knew her much at all; matter of fact, I only met her like three times. But I don't really have any friends of my own. Lonnie doesn't…." she stopped herself from rambling too much.

"You can tell me anything you want to; you know that right?"

"Maybe."

"Here we go Agent Morgan. Just set her down over there on that exam table. The tech will be in shortly to get you scanned."

Nurse Robin must have seen some worry in Danielle's eyes, 'Do you want me to come and sit with you while you get the scan done?"

Danielle nodded her head quickly, regretting the movement when her head throbbed.

"Alright, I can do that. But Agent Morgan, you will have to sit out there and wait with the others."

"But…"

"It'll be alright, Robin will be here. We practically know each other." Danielle spoke carefully to Derek.

"I will be right outside the door…."

"Whatever you say…"

Morgan stood outside in the hallway, just across from the door, to make it feel as though he was giving them a little more privacy. He just met her but he didn't like leaving her alone. Morgan didn't know a lot about ultrasounds, but as far as he was concerned this one was taking too long. He decided to call his mother. It probably wouldn't hurt to ask her to come down, just on the off chance the team got called away on a case. If that happened then Pen would be needed in the office and there would likely be nobody that could help take care of Danielle. And more to the point, he needed someone that could keep their eyes peeled for her husband. He didn't want his mom to do anything that would get her put into danger. But an extra set of eyes never killed anybody. And since she had the experience as a nurse, she would be wonderful help for Danielle.

The phone rang three times before Fran Morgan picked it up, 'Hello?"

"Mama, hey."

"It's my baby. How are you doing today? Did you have a bad case again?"

"In a manner of speaking….."

Derek could hear his mother getting comfortable in her favorite chair, 'Tell me about it."

"A woman came running to Rossi's house, her husband had beaten her pretty badly. We got her to the hospital. One of her eyes is swollen shut; she sprained her left ankle from tripping as she ran. She has a couple of cracked ribs….the doctor said she was pretty lucky though considering that she is also pregnant.

Mama, we can't let her go back to that house."

"I should say not. What is she going to do?"

"Well she can't stay at Rossi's in case her husband comes looking for her again. He already knows she was there earlier. Hotch & JJ both have kids. I'm letting her stay with me."

"Letting? They have women's shelters for this sort of thing."

"Mama, her husband is a police officer. She's tried the women's shelters before; he always finds her and makes trouble for her…coming around scaring the other women. She's been banned from them."

"What about family?"

"Her dad died when she was 10, her mom when she was 13; after that she was raised by her elderly grandparents who have been dead for the better part of 15 years or so now. She doesn't have any brothers or sisters to count on."

"That poor girl…."

"Mama, I needed to ask if you have any time to come out here for a little while. I can take care of her for the most part…..and Pen and the girls can help. But if we get called away on a case, she'll have nobody there to help her."

"I can be on the next flight out sometime tonight. You would have to pick me up at the airport….."

"I can get Penelope to bump your flight up sooner….you could be here before sundown. I can be waiting at the airport once I know what time to expect you."

"I do need to pack son."

"Sorry but, I also kind of missed you a lot as well." Derek sounded sheepish.

"Alright, go ahead and have Pen bump my flight. But give me a good two hours to pack and get to the airport at the very least."

"Yes ma'am….I'll see you in a couple of hours mama."

"Bye baby boy."

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

What Morgan didn't seem to notice was the orderly that had been emptying the trash bin near-by. He was studying Morgan, listening as closely as he could to the conversation.

'_So the whore is staying with him? The old man gets a pass. For now.'_

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**Post AN: So there's Chapter 2….I was feeling a little **_**cliffy**_**…hope ya'll like this chapter….stay tuned, there will be more.**


	3. What No One Knew Chapter 3

**What No One Knew Chapter 3**

After the sonogram was run and they found out that the baby seemed to be quite healthy, the decision was made that it should be alright let Danielle leave the hospital….to be in the care of Agent Morgan, so long as he was able to keep an eye on her due to the concussion.

"I got it covered doc. My mom is a nurse back home in Chicago. I already have her flying in today. She'll be here before nightfall. I wanted her there since she knows more about what she's doing, medically speaking. Besides, I didn't want Danielle left alone if our team got called out on a case. I thought it would be safer having her around for a little while."

Danielle's head had snapped up when she heard this. _He had called his mother?_

The look on Danielle's face didn't escape Morgan in the least; his only response was to wink at her, quickly.

"You didn't have to do that….I can take care of myself if I have to." She looked sort of worriedly over at Morgan.

"That's great and everything; but now you don't have to." He smiled at her kindly then.

"Mrs. Blanchard, considering the physical state that you are in, and the pregnancy on top of all of that, it would be in your best interest to let his mother help you if she's willing to do so."

"It's just…." Her voice dropped off, her eyes cast downward, towards the floor.

"What is it Danielle?" Rossi asked.

"Never mind; it's nothing. I'll behave, I promise."

"Alright then, with that settled, let me go get the final paperwork drawn up and we can get her out of here into more comfortable arrangements."

'_That's what he thinks….'_ Danielle couldn't help but think to herself.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Four hours later, Derek was carrying Danielle up to the front door of his apartment. She had already argued over the fact that she was perfectly capable of using the crutches; but it was futile. He argued back that the rest of her body was banged up bad enough that she would never make it on those things. And he shot down the argument about using the wheelchair to get up there, too.

"My front door isn't wide enough to fit the wheelchair through; you'd grow old and die in the door way."

She sort of gave a growl of discontent when he hoisted her up, bridal style and made his way confidently to the door of his apartment building and then on into the apartment itself.

He made his way through the apartment, glad that he had thought ahead to making his bed with clean sheets before they had left on that last case; last night he had crashed on the couch, he had been so tired, and fell asleep watching TV…so the bed was still neatly made. He made his way into his room and set her down on the foot of the bed, careful to not let her sprained ankle hit anything. After seeing that she was set down as carefully as possible, he began turning the covers back.

Derek noticed Danielle looking around trying to figure out just exactly what was going on. He saw the moment that it clicked in her head that this was his room. Her eyes became huge and he could almost see the tension vibrating off of her.

"I-I-I can sl-sleep on the c-couch."

"No."

"There's got to be a guest room."

"Momma's staying there; it still has a lot of stuff in there from her last visit…at least on the vanity."

Danielle was looking away like she was trying to figure out a new argument to use and failing miserably at it. She exhaled a shaky breath.

"I can't let you sleep on the sofa. If that asshole tries to come after you, you'd be right in his path. I'll take the couch. I usually only sleep about four hours a night anyway. If he tries to make it through me, he's going to have his hands full."

"Why do you sleep so very little?" she was looking at him curiously now.

"Mostly because of nightmares….sometimes with our work, we see some pretty shitty stuff."

"Oh, that's too bad." Danielle stated quietly.

"Most of the time it's not that big a deal. Sometimes we can figure out ways to cope pretty well. But we each have a case every once in a while that just eats us up and we can't help it. Now, come on; I want you to get settled for now. Momma will be here soon. I have to go get her from the airport."

Danielle's eyes took on a panicked appearance. "Don't worry. I've got Pen coming by to sit with you."

Danielle only lowered her eyes again and nodded. As much as she hated the idea of being alone with this strange man, she hated the idea of having to get used to another stranger again today.

Morgan must've sensed this…indecision; he picked up his cell and made three phone calls. The first was to Hotch; he arranged to have Hotch meet his mother at the airport. Next, he called his mother; he needed to let her know of the change of plans, explaining that it just didn't feel right leaving Danielle alone with a total stranger so soon. Lastly, he called Penelope and told her that she could wait until later tonight to come over, that he wasn't sure how it would go over to have Danielle around someone else she didn't know so quickly. While he had Garcia on the phone he walked out into his hallway, closing the door to the bedroom slightly, and asked her to do some digging on Lonnie Blanchard. He wanted to know every last detail about the bastard; even down to his average work schedule.

"What are you planning to do Stud?" Garcia had asked into the phone.

"Nothing; but a little knowledge never hurt anybody. And I thought that once you and the girls came over and all got acquainted that either tonight or tomorrow night Hotch, Reid, and I could go over and get some of her things for her. And we wanted to know when he would be there."

"Derek…."

"Nah, I won't do anything bad; unless he forces me to. I'll have Hotch arrange a warrant. He used to be a lawyer, he knows some judges. And for damn sure if he doesn't know enough of them, Rossi does."

"Whatever you do, just be careful. "

"Of course Baby Girl. You know how I roll."

"That's what I'm talking about. You go in kicking a door off its hinges and wind up getting your fool-self shot at. I love the hell out of you, but one of these days you're going to give me a heart attack."

"I'll wear my vest mama bear."

"Totally beside the point lover boy. Anyway, what's this girl like?"

"Petite, brunette…"

"Your type…."

"Banged up and afraid. I swear, if I was to sneak up behind her and say 'BOO' I think she would shit herself."

"That's not funny Derek."

"I'm not saying it to be funny; I'm being brutally fucking honest. Although, I will say that Reid was able to get a few laughs out of her with his physics magic earlier. She mentioned how she used to like to read so much, but her husband burned all of her books; Reid promised to bring some of his by later for her to borrow. You'd love her to death. JJ has already warned her that you'd adopt her."

The whole time Derek has been talking to Pen, he could hear her fingers tapping away on a keyboard. He knew for a solid fact she was already looking up information on this _Lonnie Blanchard._

"Well damn, JJ is always stealing my thunder. Would you like to know what I've found so far?"

"Yes, St. Jude."

"Be. Nice…..Ok. Lonnie Blanchard. Birth name Lawrence, I'd stick with a nickname too, I suppose. He was born June 12, 1973. He is originally from Virginia Beach. He married Danielle Marie Riddick on May 10, 2004. They've moved a few times over the last 10 years or so, it seems. He is currently paying the mortgage faithfully on the house their living in; it seems as though he had made a lot of money working for some private security companies; he's good with money it seems, outside of his house and maybe his vehicle, he lives well within his means. Oh, here we go….there is a storage building that he has been renting since they moved into town…." Garcia made sure that Derek knew that she was sending the address to his cell as they spoke.

Suddenly there was a _'THUD'_ heard coming from Derek's room. Without hanging up Derek sped back into the room, looking for Danielle.

"Sweet heart what are you doing?" Danielle had fallen out of his bed and was currently sitting on her backside in the carpeted floor.

"I had to go to the restroom…." She tried to sit up a bit, wincing.

"You should have called me…"

"I was going to toss a shoe at the door, but when I leaned over to get it, it was out of my reach….the bed is too high for me….and I fell out. Your house is not short-person friendly."

Garcia was still on the line, and she couldn't help but giggle slightly at Derek getting told. And the woman that she could hear speaking sounded just adorable. _'Poor Derek….Poor, sweet, Derek.'_ Garcia thought to herself, _'He doesn't really stand a chance does he?'_

"Garcia, I gotta go. Come over around…maybe…7. Oh, by the way, thank you for bumping mom's flight. Coming over around 7 will give me time to get mom settled down a little and get Danielle seen to."

"Alright Hot Stuff, I'll be there later. And JJ called me and told me about getting more suitably fitting clothes for our new friend, so I'll be bringing those as well. Rossi's handed over his black card."

Derek could almost hear the giddy excitement in her voice, 'Take it easy on the old man."

"I will, I will. No fun, I swear. You men are always trying to keep me down."

Derek chuckled, 'Bye Baby Girl."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell her I said 'Hello'."

Derek disconnected the call, setting his phone down, and leaned over to scoop Danielle out of the floor. She scooted back from him a bit.

Seeing his confused look, 'You said you didn't have a girlfriend. I would never have…."

"That was Garcia…one of the ones I said would come over and hang out with you. She's my best friend…that's all."

"I just figured it would be weird having a woman in your house…ya know because…"

"No worries. My last relationship ended months ago."

"Was the woman impaired?" Danielle looked at Morgan utterly confused for just a moment before shaking her head, 'I mean, never mind, that's none of my business."

Morgan grinned at her, 'I ended it. She didn't get the fact that my job takes up so much of my time."

"Well, she was stupid."

Derek only shook his head as he scooped her off the floor and carried her to the bathroom. He set her down once they were inside.

"Out; my body functions get a little stage fright in front of an audience."

"I'm going shorty. Just bang on the cabinet when you're ready to come out."

"Shorty? Ooh! You wait." She was about to start dancing, she had to go so bad.

Derek laughed as he shut the door behind him. He was going to try to figure something out for her to eat; perhaps some soup. He wasn't sure what she might be able to handle, and that seemed the lesser of the evils. He still had some Chicken Tortilla soup that had black beans, corn, and cilantro all in it that Pen had made last week. He decided to take some of that out of the freezer and heat it up. He put that in a medium sauce pot, turning the heat up to medium, and made his way back towards the bathroom when he heard Danielle moving around.

When he rounded the corner he noticed that she had made her way out into the hall without notifying him.

"I thought I said to bang on the cabinet and I would come and get you."

The sound of his voice caused both of her feet to come off of the floor, she flinched.

"I told you I can still do some stuff on my own."

"Not. The. Point. You don't have to do it on your own; that's why I brought you back here so you wouldn't have to do it by yourself." He scooped her up again.

"Well soon enough you'll get tired of carrying me around…"

"Try harder."

"Maybe I'll get tired of being carried."

"Too bad."

"Look…I'm used to doing everything for myself. It's been a long time since anybody has taken care of me. Let me do it."

"Nope."

In the midst of the conversation, Hotch had arrived at Morgan's house with his mother in tow. It had been five hours since he called her when they were at the hospital with Danielle. Hotch and Fran could hear the conversation rattling on.

"Oh lord, one's as stubborn as the other…"

"Fran, are you sure you won't allow me to assign you some back up?"

"I raised that boy. I got this."

"Ok, well, I'll take your bags into the guest room."

"Thank you Agent Hotchner."

"Ma'am, you can call me Aaron."

"And you can call me Fran."

Fran made her way into the kitchen to see if Derek had thought about feeding the poor woman; she smiled when she saw the soup in the pot…and she was impressed. It was something relatively healthy….Her son, the pizza fanatic. She could still hear them chattering down the hall in the bedroom.

"Did she tell you about his storage building?"

"Yeah."

"Sometime, can somebody go get a box of things from there for me? It's not big…It won't take up much space. I promise."

"Don't worry about it. I can talk to Emily and Reid before they come over and see if they can get into the place."

"They'll need a key…"

"Nah. They have bolt cutters." Again, he winked at her, this time earning him a small laugh. "Well, I'm going to go check on dinner."

"You didn't have to make me anything…"

"It's some soup that Penelope made for me last week. I stored the excess in the freezer, so that all I had to do was heat it up. I'm going to go check and make sure that I haven't left it for too long." He settled her back onto the bed, making sure she was comfortable, pulling the covers up a bit. As he made his way out into the hall he was confronted by his mother, carrying a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of water on it.

"Mama, when did…."

"I just came in maybe 10 minutes ago. You were having a discussion with your house guest and I didn't want to interrupt. Aaron has already gotten my things put in my room. He's out in the living room if you want to go speak to him."

While Derek and his mom were speaking in the hall, Danielle had pulled herself up into the sitting position; she was scared to death. _His mom was here._ She began running her fingers through her hair trying to make sure she wasn't a total wreck until she remembered what she looked like with her eye swollen shut and gave up.

Fran walked in and saw the tiny woman sitting up in the bed, trying to get situated, wincing in pain. She set the tray down on the dresser that was across from the bed and went over to help her.

The woman flinched when she felt a hand take her by the arm. Danielle looked up at Fran for a split second and then quickly looked down again.

"I can do it. It's just my arm hurts a little."

"Hush. I'm helping you and that's final."

"Well, you must be Agent Morgan's mother."

"You can call me Fran or Mama Morgan…most everybody does." Fran turned to retrieve the tray, adjusting it so the legs to it dropped down before she placed it over Danielle's lap. As she turned back around she noticed Danielle still trying to make heads or tails out of her unruly hair; then she noticed the woman holding her forehead with one hand.

"Are you alright dear?"

"My head is splitting. Doc said I had a mild concussion. But he forgot to mention the Godzilla sized headache that I was going to have."

"I can go and get you some aspirin for it. Just sit here and have some soup, and I'll be right back."

Fran was only gone for a moment or two, but when she came back she saw that the girl had managed to scrunch back down in the bed, covering her eyes to keep the light out of them; the tray was still sitting in the same position, somehow Danielle had managed not to knock it over.

Fran sat the bottle of aspirin down on the night table and removed the tray, 'Baby what's wrong?"

"I feel like my head is going to split open….Can you turn the lamp off please?"

Fran jumped and did just that; while she was at it she closed the curtains to make it even darker in the room.

"Migraine, huh?"

"Yes. Kill me now. I gotta get up." Danielle began scrambling to get out of bed. Fran ran over to keep her from getting out of bed. Knowing how a migraine works, Fran grabbed a trash can that was near the bed.

"You don't need to be getting out of the bed." After handing over the trash can, Fran took the tray of food from Danielle so it wouldn't get knocked over. While Danielle vomited into the trash can, Fran went to the bathroom and got a damp rag and brought it back to wipe her face off, trying to be careful of the eye that was swollen shut.

"You don't have to be so careful, Ma'am. It doesn't even hurt that much. After the first few times, you don't even notice it anymore….I wanna try to eat now. I'm hungrier than I thought."

"First of all, it's Mama Morgan to you….' She saw the girl silently nod with a look on her face like she felt she was getting admonished. "And secondly…..secondly….you need some taking care of after everything."

Danielle managed a few bites of soup before she became a little tired; the headache, though weaker, was still playing hell with her. Fran moved the tray back across the room and ran back rewetting the rag that she had to keep it applied to Danielle's forehead. Fran sat on the bed, a little behind Danielle, pulling her back to rest against her chest, rubbing her face with the rag.

"I'll sit with you for a while, until you fall asleep."

"Y-you don't have to. I'll be fine."

Fran could hear sadness in the girl's voice. "Hush, arguing will only make your headache worse. Just relax."

It seemed to take less than five minutes, and the girl was asleep, her head resting against Fran's chest; Fran's arms had wrapped around the girl and she had been massaging her temples to try to help relieve the headache a little bit. Once she was sure the girl was asleep, Fran maneuvered from behind her, standing up, laying Danielle back on the pillow. She saw tear tracks on the girl's cheeks. Fran made her way out of the room, leaving the door cracked about two inches.

Walking back into the kitchen, Fran saw Derek look up at her.

"Did Agent Hotchner get on the road alright?"

"Yeah. How is she?"

"She has a migraine, so she's feeling sort of nauseated….."

"Momma…?"

"She's sad baby. She won't talk about it, but she's so very sad."

Derek was checking the text message that Garcia just sent him and smiled, 'Well Pen and the girls are going to be here in about 10 minutes. And I know how Garcia works. She'll have the girl talking in no time flat. And Hotch and the fellas are coming with them it seems."

"I'm going to go back and check on her. I'll sit with her until they get here. I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up."

Derek smiled at his mom and said a quiet 'thank you' as she turned to walk back down the hall to the bedroom. Derek decided that he would call in some delivery while he waited for the team to get there. That soup had been enough to feed two people at the very most, but it would not make it around a room full of seven or eight people. He knew that Pen liked Asian fusion a lot, so he ordered from that new Thai place up the street; it was the least he could do if they were going to try to use Garcia to get the girl to open up at all….a little bribe never hurt.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Outside, across the street, in a row of on-street parking belonging to the building there, a man stood outside in front of a non-descript old Ford Bronco II; a throw-back to the 1980's. He had the hood raised as if he was inspecting a problem with something there. He had his small flashlight out, even though there was still plenty of daylight left, to make it look as though he was thoroughly inspecting the issue at hand. He watched as two different dark SUV's pulled up to the building where he had seen the others take his wife. He watched carefully as each person got out of the vehicles and made their way into the building. Holding the flashlight with his mouth he grabbed his cell phone and began snapping pictures of them as quickly as he could. Before he decided to strike he would do his homework.

'_No slip ups,'_ he muttered to himself as he put his cell phone back into his pocket and got into the truck to drive away.

**Post AN: M'kay, so there's that….will have to see what I can dream up for the next installment. I've been stoked at the response this story has gotten so far from the readers….Thank you very much. **


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